Previous analysis of NELS:88 data found that students who are at-risk of school failure, but who are engaged and participate in school, achieve educational success. The 1993 study was a cross-sectional examination of the differences among successful versus unsuccessful students at-risk of school failure, particularly with respect to participation and engagement in school. The current study is a longitudinal investigation of the power of participating in high school and later educational outcomes. High school noncompleters, with the highest level of academic risk, stood out in each case. In postsecondary education programs, noncompleters earned the fewest credits; the mean number of credits earned by noncompleters who entered a postsecondary program was 17.0, compared to 49.4 credits for marginal completers and 87.8 credits for successful completers. High school noncompleters were less likely to be employed in 2000 (77 percent) than were successful completers (88 percent) or marginal completers (86 percent).
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